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GP Hindu temple complete

Sushil Kalia, a Hindu priest from Edmonton, ties Kalava—sacred Hindu red thread—on the wrists of Sailaja Pammidi and her 20-month-old daughter, Tejaswi Pammidi at the official opening of the first Hindu temple in Grande Prairie on Sunday. The new cultural centre marks the northernmost Hindu temple in Canada. (Caryn Ceolin/Daily Herald-Tribune)

Grande Prairie’s growing community of Hindus celebrated the official opening of the first temple in the province north of Edmonton on Sunday.

The day was marked by a traditional ritual of “prana pratishta,” a rite in Hindu theology that distinguishes the consecration of the deities, followed by an inauguration by Mayor Bill Given. With that, the formal ceremony transformed a patch of ground east of the city limits into a sacred dwelling of public worship.

“This is such a joyous occasion,” said Ratna Kali Roy, the wife of Nikhilesh Roy, president of the Grande Prairie Hindu Association (GPHA). “We consider ourselves very lucky that we have been able to do this.”

The notion of a cultural centre is rooted in the need for one by Grande Prairie’s practicing Hindus. According to Roy, the families have had to travel 450 kilometres to Edmonton, if wanting to visit the nearest temple rather than gathering in private homes. With no place to pray, religious observances were often held in someone’s basement, making for crammed conditions.

“It worked before when the (Hindu) community was quite small, but now it has grown a lot, and we definitely needed a space to call our own and celebrate properly,” she said.

That will now change.

More than 90% of financing came from the pockets of Roy and her husband, allowing the project to crystallize. Additional funds were contributed from within the GPHA as well as from donors in and outside of the city. Now standing on the eastward extension along 68 Avenue, the new temple will serve a purpose that is threefold, said Roy.

“This will be a place for us to celebrate our festivals, instill our traditions in our children and showcase our culture to the people of peace region.”

However, its use intends to extend beyond belief.

Plans to house yoga and language classes in the temple’s finished basement, currently equipped with a kitchen and dining hall for meals, are in the early stages of development.

Meditation and other forms of spiritual guidance will also be available, Roy said of wanting the approximate 1,380 square foot cultural centre to serve all community members, regardless of whether they practice the religion.

“We don’t have a Hindu temple of this latitude in Canada, so it’s a historical event really. It’s the first of its kind, and probably the northernmost Hindu temple in Canada,” she said. “It’s open for everybody as long as they follow our little things, like appropriate dressing and that sort of thing, but there are no restrictions on who can enjoy the space.”

While Canadian winters prevented a traditional Indian temple, the structure’s simple architecture is still adorned with various features that will differentiate it from ordinary buildings.

“We have what is called the Shikhar, it’s the crown on top of the building. We also have what’s called a Kalash, it’s a very sacred thing that holds water from all of the holy rivers in India,” Roy said.

With Sunday came the opening of the temple doors, and a ceremony that will be embedded in Grande Prairie’s history, said Roy.

“Let us all make this like a historic event that we will remember for life. Not everybody gets the chance to participate in the opening of a temple as the deities were being consecrated. That is huge.”